The Franco-Prussian War ( French: Guerre Franco-Allemande de 1870, German: Deutsch-Französischer Krieg ) was waged between France and Prussia and the German states from July 15, 1870 to Feb. 1, 1871 . Napoleon I had smashed through the German states with ease during the Napoleonic wars . Now a generation later, the roles would be reversed . Even though the war was a short duration, it dramatically changed European history . The rapid and overwhelming victory of the German states under the leadership of Prussia in this conflict made possible the creation of a unified German Empire and brought the fall of the French empire of Napoleon III which was replaced by the Third Republic. Prussian would first fight and destroy the armies of the emperor Napoleon, then the newly raised armies of the Third Republic . The war also marked the final step in Germany's rise to the position of a major continental power . As part of the settlement, the territory of Alsace-Lorraine was taken by Germany, which would retain it until after World War I. The war cost the leader of France, Napoleon III everything and he would die in exile in London in 1873 .

Franco-Prussian
War Documentary . The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German
War , often referred to in France as the War of 1870 ( July, 19 1870
– May,10 1871), was a conflict between the Second French Empire
and the German states of the North German Confederation led by the
Kingdom of Prussia. The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions
to extend German unification. Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck
planned to provoke a French attack in order to draw the southern
German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—into
an alliance with the North German Confederation dominated by Prussia.

The Franco-Prussian war Day by Day

The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 was the first modern war in Europe. It was the longest military conflict fought on European soil since the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The end of the war marked the ascendancy of Imperial Germany as the preeminent military power on the continent.